Opinion: Congress’s Syria Conundrum

Best of the Web Today columnist James Taranto on how behaviorial economics influences the Congressional debate on Syria. Photos: Associated Press

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... why go ... first ... because the United States of America ... it is stronger ... when the Congress of United States representing the people ... at the present United States are acting together ... the president wants that's right ... represented in this initiative ... in ... welcome back to Opinion Journal I'm Mary Kissel ... Secretary State John Kerry explaining why the president should go to Congress for Congress's approval ... it does put the House and Senate though in something of a conundrum and here to discuss it ... is best of the Web Today columnist James to ransom ... I James present Obama drew a red line ... isn't this a clear cut decision is America's credibility on line here ... yes but it's not a straightforward argument reason Assad's Freeport argument is because ... America's credibility arguably is shot already ... because of Obama's dithering ... exemplified by his decision to go to Congress on the news last-minute philosophical decision which he claims he didn't need in a ... I and so calm reside at my initial instinct after hearing this was to say ... what difference does it make if Congress votes no ... higher credibility is shot one where the other ... I had to go back in and think about ... this in terms of behavioral economics in order to see it with a cognitive error I was making when you mean what what kind of caught it appeared to hit zero economics teaches science and art deco prospects there ... what this teaches is that when people are faced ... with a bad choice or worse choice they tend to become risk seeking which is to say that they tend to become insensitive to the difference between the bad choice in the worst roads ... in this case we have a bad choice ... approving ... Obama side requests to use photo for offers a few snorts Reko Forest ... at a worse choice disapproving it ... and you look at the two and they both seem like terrible choices why isn't that a choice that and Sammy the wheat made the argument on the editorial page that ... actually if we arm the rebels if we took out the Syrian Air Force capability to be her Obama said he said this is going to be just a limited strike by all we're going to do is send a message when you say you're sending a message that item undercuts the masses ... so what Obama is doing is he's ... promising to use a word that awesome was used during the Iraq war debate ten years ago ... Privacy cakewalk he saying this will be easy ... I don't think that that's sufficient to get it done ... to to do to achieve any serious objective here ... and there for me either way ... it's about trust of God that costs and what's the worst race and the worst choices to say no because the bomb as an excuse for complete inaction ... and demand that your previous guests titled made the case pretty well but here's what's interesting about that ... not Obama ... that is what's called a framing probably has another idea for behavioral economics ... commerce is presented with a bad choice at a worse choice ... the bad choice is called yes ... the worst choice is called no ... now if somebody presents you with a bad it was the worst Royce don't you want to say no ... and so ... this is another reason why it's understandable that people in Congress would be inclined to vote no ... but all the stuff but behavioral economics ... I'd to any experts on that one is cast honesty it was an advisor to President Obama ... the others Daniel Kahneman whose book Thinking Fast and Slow is where I learned all the stuff Princeton Professor Wright president of the Nobel Prize winner in economics he was not an economist is a psychologist ... present Obama claimed to have read ... Thinking Fast and Slow ... he really has no excuse for not anticipating these problems ok we're going to leave it that best of the Web Today columnist James Taranto thank you very much